


All This Time

by Happy45



Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: F/M, brettsey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:07:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26879431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Happy45/pseuds/Happy45
Summary: All this time she thought he could never feel how she felt about him. All this time she kept her feelings to herself.But all this time - he loved her.9x01 imagining fic
Relationships: Sylvie Brett/Matthew Casey
Comments: 39
Kudos: 151





	All This Time

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! I'm not really sure where this oneshot came from... a combination of some chats I've had with people/my own ideas on where Brettsey could be in season 9/just some rambling thoughts that poured out when I started typing.
> 
> It's a long, soppy, slightly rambly, imperfect one but here it is... I hope you enjoy it!!

**All This Time**

_6 months._

It had been 6 months since another person slipped out of Sylvie’s life. It just seemed cruel at this stage. How many more people was she going to have to lose before the universe called it quits?

She wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer to that.

What she was sure about, however, was that the four partners that she’d had since Foster left were entirely unsuitable to stay at 51 long term.

Her first partner couldn’t handle the pressure of being a first responder in one of Chicago’s busiest districts.

Her second partner thought he knew better than his PIC.

Her third partner thought he knew better than _Boden._

And her fourth partner was just plain incompetent.

Boden had told her that he understood her concerns about each of them, but like he told her when Foster arrived, she had to make the new paramedic starting today _stick_ – and she _was_ hopeful about her new partner.

Her name was Gianna Mackey. Hatcher had come by and told her that she was fresh out of the academy, so she wasn’t the finished product by any means – but she showed a lot of promise. She was smart and intuitive and a real people person. Hatcher knew that with someone as bright and nurturing as Sylvie, Mackey would complete the puzzle at 51 and learn a lot of in the process.

Hatcher also saw it as an opportunity for Sylvie to show off her promise as a leader. She was one of the most respected paramedics in the CFD and he believed that the up and comers had a lot to learn from her. Sylvie was flattered of course, but she’d never really thought of herself that way. She knew she was good at her job but hearing someone else commend her for it in such a way took her by surprise. She could hope that she lived up to the faith Hatcher had put in her.

Sylvie arrived early to work that morning to make a start on inventory. She wanted to have some time to get to know Mackey and to show her the ropes without having to worry about what needed restocking.

She was just about finished when she heard Boden call her name from the lounge doors. She looked up and saw him walking towards her with a bright eyed, smiling paramedic. Sylvie couldn’t help but immediately return her smile. She had a good feeling from that smile alone. Mackey was going to be a breath of fresh air on ambo and she was excited.

“Gianna Mackey this is your PIC Sylvie Brett” Boden introduced as they quickly shook hands. “I’ll leave you two to get acquainted, briefing is in half an hour.” He instructed with a nod as he walked away.

“See you then Chief!” Mackey said enthusiastically before turning back to Sylvie. “He seems like an _awesome_ Chief.” She observed.

Sylvie grinned and nodded her head, “Boden is the best there is.” She confirmed as Mackey smiled wider that her assumptions were correct. “So, welcome to 51, it’s nice to have you on board. Ambo 61 has seen _quite_ a few paramedics over the past few months, but I’m hopeful you’ll stay around.” She said with a little laugh.

“Oh, I plan on it, especially because I get to learn from _the_ Sylvie Brett. The other paramedics in my class at the academy were insanely jealous that I got partnered with you.” Mackey bragged as Sylvie raised an eyebrow.

“Really?” Sylvie asked in disbelief. They knew who she was at the academy? Her intrigue quickly turned to suspicion – _what_ exactly did they know about her…?

“Oh yeah!” Mackey insisted. “I mean, Hatcher called Ambo 61 a thorn on a very prickly bush that is Firehouse 51 – but he’s just being a bureaucrat. He knows you’re a badass and the stories from your calls – _legendary_.”

Sylvie let out a little laugh, “You’re kidding?”

“ _Nope_. And I by no means condone reckless behaviour but I appreciate a paramedic who goes above and beyond. Sometimes the rules needed to be damned if a life is on the line – and I want to learn that from you. I want to learn when to be appropriately reckless.” She sincerely explained.

“Well hopefully I won’t let you down. And you’ve definitely come to the right place to learn about appropriate recklessness. Lieutenant Severide jumped through a stained-glass window in a church last shift with a 6-year-old in his arms.” Sylvie explained as Mackey formed an ‘o’ shape with her mouth.

“Yeah, I think Hatcher’s _exact_ words were ‘ _51 is a problem house with two brash and cocky officers that encourage my paramedics to be brash and cocky too’_ ” Mackey said as she imitated Hatcher – nailing the frown and all. The man confused the _hell_ out of Sylvie. One minute he was saying Ambo 61 was a problem, the next he was saying paramedics had a lot to learn from her.

Sylvie laughed, “Some say brash and cocky, I say calculated confidence” she explained. Severide had long past his arrogant days and quite frankly, there wasn’t a bad bone in Matt Casey’s body. None that she could see anyway. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to this wild bunch.”

Sylvie led Mackey towards the lounge doors where she heard the ruckus of everybody getting breakfast. She could already hear Hermann mouthing off about Gallo cooking healthy alternatives to the bacon, sausage and eggs they normally had and Mouch was banging the remote off the coffee table in an attempt to get it to work. She really did love the sounds of 51 in the morning.

She was so distracted by the sounds that she ran straight into a warm body at the entrance to the lounge and jumped back slightly. She blinked a few times before she realised she’d bumped into Casey – and he was looking at her with a confused grin on his face.

“Hey, hi, hello” Sylvie greeted awkwardly as she stiffly waved and gave him a tight-lipped smile. Mackey looked at her with wide and curious eyes.

“Morning” Matt replied, the amusement evident on his face – but Sylvie didn’t look amused at all. Her little smile faded and suddenly, she just looked a little distant. She even took a small step back. A move which didn’t go unnoticed by anyone. Matt gulped before turning to Mackey. “You must be our new paramedic. I’m Matt Casey, the Captain on truck.” He introduced as they shook hands.

“Nice to meet you Captain, I’m Gianna Mackey.”

“Everyone” Matt announced as he turned around and grabbed everyone’s attention. “This is Gianna Mackey, our new paramedic. I’m sure you’ll pull out all the stops to make sure she feels welcome at 51.” He insisted as he left the room – but not before taking a final glance at Brett. Mackey was instantly curious about _that_ particular dynamic – but the conclusion was fairly obvious to her.

Before she could think about it any further, everyone joined in with choruses of hello while Stella took the opportunity to approach.

“I’m Stella Kidd, it’s nice to meet you. It’s also nice to have some more _oestrogen_ around here.” She emphasised as the majority of the men groaned and rolled their eyes at her deliberately loud point. “We ladies gotta stick together, so if you need anything, just let me know.”

Mackey smiled widely, “Thanks, I appreciate that.”

“Brett” they heard a voice at the door say as Capp walked into the room. “Chief wants to talk to you in his office.”

“Ok” Sylvie said as she started to walk away. “I’ll be back soon. I would say prepare yourself for some immediate ball busting from these guys – but I think you’ll be able to handle yourself just fine.”

Mackey gratefully nodded as Brett left before she turned back to look at the others. She frowned when she realised they were all watching Sylvie as she left and the moment they knew she was gone, they crowded around the table in a huddle.

_“So they’re being weird again.”_

_“Guys I’m telling you, you’ve just got to ask!”_

_“No, it’s none of our business, if they want to talk to us about what’s going on, they will.”_

_“Kidd, you’re just saying that because Brett had probably told you what’s going on – you don’t get a say in what the rest of us should know!”_

_“I just need them to stop acting weird!”_

Mackey let out an involuntary laugh as everyone stopped bickering and turned to look at her as she stood at the bottom of the table. Her face fell slightly, and she gulped. _Woops_.

“You ok there kid?” Hermann asked from his seat at the head of the table.

Mackey wasn’t really sure how to respond. She didn’t want to butcher her first encounter with her colleagues – but she also wasn’t one to beat around the bush.

“I uh - I know I don’t really know you guys yet but I’ve gotta say – you guys are _dumb.”_ She insulted as their mouths fell open in disbelief.

“Come again?” Cruz asked. How the hell were they being dumb?!

“You’re confused about why Brett and Casey were being weird around each other, right?” Mackey asked.

Ritter stepped closer towards her, “Oh my god, you noticed it too? We thought we might be doing crazy…”

“Let me tell you Mackey, it all started around 4 months ago. Before that they were thick as thieves, the best of friends but then – something changed. They got weird around each other, awkward and _overly_ professional.” Mouch explained.

“… you guys _really_ don’t realise what’s going on there?” Mackey asked, taking her own opportunity to stand in disbelief. Were they really that blind?!

“No, that’s what we were just saying!” Gallo exclaimed.

Mackey stood in silence for a few minutes before she started to laugh again. This was _too_ good. She briefly glanced at Stella and saw that she was grinning from ear to ear. She knew _exactly_ what was going on too – she was just waiting for the other shoe to drop with her 51 family.

“Say what you want to say Mackey” Cruz said, the frustration over the situation evident in his voice.

Mackey held up her hands. If they didn’t know then it certainly wasn’t her place to tell, “No… I’m going to leave this one with you guys to stew over. It was nice meeting you all!” she announced before she walked out of the lounge to find her locker.

The rest of 51 went back to stewing over their breakfast – all while Casey was standing just outside the door. He’d heard everything they’d said. Four months ago, they knew something had shifted between himself and Brett and they were right. Something _did_ shift. It was a strange and slightly messy shift – but necessary.

As he stood there, he couldn’t help but think back to that morning four months ago. He’d been staring at an envelope in his hands when Sylvie had come knocking at the door of his quarters just before they finished shift.

_** 4 months ago **_

“Hey, you busy?” she asked as he cleared his throat and set the envelope down.

“No, come in” he insisted as she came in and closed the door behind her. “What’s up?”

“Well I _finally_ found a nice place to move to so I was wondering if you were free today and would mind helping me move my stuff?” she asked with a hopeful smile. “I know it’s a big ask, but I figured you could fit a lot on that big old truck of yours.” She added with a little laugh.

Matt smiled at her. He’d missed her laugh. It had been a while since he’d seen her excited about something and her excitement was infectious. He’d found that this was happening a lot lately with Sylvie. Every emotion she felt he felt too.

“Uh, yeah, yeah, I can give you hand.” He said, stumbling over his words a little. Of course he wanted to help her, he was just a little thrown at the minute. This envelope had landed on his desk and he barely had a chance to process its contents before she walked in.

Sylvie stared at him for a moment. She folded her arms across her chest and looked between him and the envelope he had just set down. It didn’t take a genius to work out that whatever was inside it had bothered him.

“Maybe this was a bad time after all…” she said as she shifted awkwardly where she stood. “Are you ok?” she asked cautiously. She didn’t want to pry, but she also wasn’t about to walk away from him when he was clearly on edge about something.

“Yeah, yeah, I just—” Matt stopped himself. He was about to tell her that he was fine and nothing was the matter, but he didn’t want to do that with her. He didn’t want to play down his feelings for fear that he might upset her. He was _done_ treading lightly – he’d done too much of that with Gabby and it resulted in their marriage imploding. But Sylvie was different. Their relationship was different.

He just needed to pluck up the courage to tell her that.

Instead of continuing his lie, Matt sighed and lifted the envelope before handing it to Sylvie. She frowned and hesitantly took it, taking a minute before lifting out the contents.

Matt studied her expression carefully. He wanted as her face fell a thousand miles. He watched as she gulped uncomfortably, and she refused to look back up at him. She was clearly trying to mask her feelings in this moment.

“A plane ticket to Puerto Rico” she said in a whisper.

Matt nodded his head. “I haven’t spoken to Gabby since she was here last year. I mentioned at the charity ball we went to that I had some furlough booked for the summer and I guess she remembered and sent this.” He explained. He certainly hadn’t asked for it. In all honesty, he found the proposition a little intrusive. Going to Puerto Rico should be _his_ choice. It shouldn’t be something that’s thrusted upon him because it was what Gabby wanted. She chose to leave, he chose to move on - and he just wished she’d respect that.

“Oh” was all Sylvie could manage to say. They stood in silence for a few more moments before Sylvie handed him back the envelope. “You should go.”

“I didn’t ask if you think I should go.” He replied a little abruptly.

Sylvie frowned, “Then why did you show me the tickets?” she asked. She could only draw her own conclusions here. The last time he told her Gabby had invited him somewhere, he was looking for advice – why would now be any different.

Matt remained silent. He didn’t want to mess this opportunity up. He wanted to choose his next words carefully – but he wasn’t moving fast enough for Sylvie.

“All I’m saying is that I saw your face when you came back from your night with Gabby. You were really happy and grateful that you went—”

“Yeah I was grateful that I went because I finally got closure on our relationship.”

“… _closure_?”

“She left so abruptly, and I _hated_ that I didn’t have any sense of control over the situation. Don’t get me wrong I would never want to control _her_ , but I just had to sit back and watch my marriage crumble and there was _nothing_ I could do to stop it.” He explained. He felt completely powerless. All of his emotions were bottled so that Gabby could go and pursue her life in another country – and it didn’t seem to matter to her. “But when she came back… _I_ made the decision to go that ball, _I_ made the decision to spend the night and _I_ made the decision to walk away.” He said proudly. “I know I was moving on before that, but that was the first time I really felt my heart beating like it had never been broken. I started to feel whole again.”

“I had no idea” Sylvie said quietly as she stepped back and leaned against the door. “In all honesty I was too scared to ask you about it. I saw that you seemed happy the next day and I just – I assumed you had hope for that relationship again.”

Matt immediately shook his head and stood from his chair, taking a dangerous step towards her. “No. That’s not what happened. I let that relationship go that night. Truly let it go… I wasn’t really sure what my next move was – but then you came to me one day on shift to tell me that a victim from a car wreck was going to be ok.”

Sylvie smiled lightly, “I remember. I thought you’d want to know - you _are_ a little extra that way…” she said with a quick eyebrow quirk as he chuckled and grinned brightly at her.

“In that moment I was pretty quickly reminded why I wanted to take you to dinner just before the Arnow Fire.”

Sylvie’s eyes widened as she moved from the door and stepped towards him, “You – you _what?”_

Matt nodded, “Yeah… I was plucking up the courage to ask you out because you are probably the best person I will ever know and your goodness makes me want to be good and you brought a lightness to my life that I didn’t think I would ever have again.”

“Hold on” Sylvie said as she held her hand up, trying to process everything that he was saying. “You’re telling me that all that stuff you said to me in Molly’s about Kyle and I being right for each other – you’re saying that was a _lie.”_

Matt shrugged, “Not a lie, no. I did think you were two good people who would make each other happy, but I was wrong and I was an idiot who thought he was doing the right thing.”

Sylvie scoffed, “Honestly, more fool me for thinking that it would be a good idea to marry someone based on someone else’s assessment of the relationship…” she confessed. She hated what she did to Kyle. It wasn’t fair and it wasn’t right and she _knew_ she messed up. She just never factored _this_ into the situation.

Casey had feelings for her. _Has_ feelings for her? She didn’t even know what he was trying to say right now. It was clear that there was so much that had gone unsaid until now, more than either of them realised, and now it was just an avalanche of raw truth and emotion and Sylvie didn’t know how to process it.

“You – you liked me.” She managed to mumble out. That was really the only thing that was clear to her.

Matt’s eyes bore through her in the most intense but loving stare he had ever given her. She wanted to look away and hide but she just couldn’t. She was captivated by him and she knew she always would be.

“I know I liked you then, but I know I love you now.”

Sylvie’s heart skipped a beat.

He loved her.

Matt Casey loved her.

All this time she thought he could never feel how she felt about him. All this time she kept her feelings to herself.

_But all this time he loved her._

“That moment in Firehouse 20 – things shifted for me. I always wanted to spend time with you just so I could be around your goodness as much as possible” be began confessing – Sylvie’s mind instantly went to Matt immediately offering to help her with Mr Larson. He’d been so eager to help her and now she really understood why.

“And then you let me help you and be there for you with Julie and to be let _in_ by someone, I just –” he began, but trailed off his sentence. He didn’t want to make this about Gabby because it wasn’t about her. Nothing about falling in love with Sylvie had been about Gabby and making up for the mistakes he made with her. “To feel trusted and to trust someone like I trust you – I haven’t had that very often in life.”

Sylvie took a step back again until she hit the door. She needed something to steady her as he said these insane but important words.

“And then at Cruz and Chloe’s wedding” he began as he began to close the gap between them. “The priest was talking about love being a place of warmth, a safe house on your best and worst days and a best friend to call home and I just knew _– it’s you_. You are my safehouse.”

Sylvie hadn’t even realised that her eyes were watering until a stray tear fell down her cheek. Hearing him tell her how he viewed their relationship over the past few months made all the uncertainty and confusion and denial of her feelings _worth it._ He had been her rock and her safehouse for the past few months, yet she thought it was crazy to feel the way she did.

But she was wrong. He was crazy about her and she had no clue.

“So yeah - my serious crush shifted into love and I can safely say that loving you is the best feeling in the world.” He said with a little laugh. “I don’t want to go to Puerto Rico. I don’t want Gabby.” He made clear as he closed the gap between them, his hands resting at the ends of her neck, their noses and foreheads brushing. “I want you because I am so in love with you Sylvie Brett – and I want to be all of those things for you too.”

Sylvie closed her eyes and allowed herself to fall into his touch. Now that she knew what it was like to stand so intimately close to one another, she knew she never wanted to be without this again. She never wanted to be without his warmth and patience and compassion and goodness again.

She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, there was a knock on the door.

_“Brett come on, I know you’re in there, we gotta go to breakfast! How long does it take to ask Casey for his help later?!”_ Stella exclaimed from outside the door.

The moment to say anything suddenly disappeared.

“I gotta go” Sylvie said in a whisper as Matt reluctantly nodded his head and stepped away from her, reluctantly letting her slip out of his quarters. What she needed to say was too important to be interrupted by Stella – it had to wait.

***

Matt let out a short breathy laugh at the memory of that moment. He’d never been so open and honest about his feelings before. He couldn’t stop himself and honestly – he didn’t _want_ to stop himself.

But now – things weren’t quite how he expected them to be. He watched as Sylvie came from Boden’s office. She gave him a light smile when she spotted him before turning into the lounge.

Yeah. Not how he expected them to be at _all_.

* * *

_“So”_ Mackey said as soon as she and Sylvie jumped back into the ambo after a call. They had been attending to a person in distress. It appeared the man was having a panic attack and they managed to settle him and conclude that his vitals were stable, so there was no need for a trip to the ER. “You and Casey, you’re together, right?”

Sylvie’s eyes widened as she turned her head and looked at her partner, “I’m sorry?”

“Do _not_ play dumb with me partner, you guys had some _serious_ vibes between you. What the rest of 51 saw as awkwardness, I saw as two people who are _stupidly_ in love and are trying to keep their romance under wraps.” Mackey explained. She'd been thinking about their little awkward run in this morning and she'd been dying to ask Brett about it since. Casey’s pupils had dilated wider than she knew pupils could dilate as soon as he saw Brett, and Brett was very clearly trying to hold back a little smile.

Sylvie continued to stare at Mackey with a stunned look on her face for a few seconds before she looked forward again and turned the engine on.

Mackey grinned and squealed lightly, “I _knew_ it!”

“I didn’t say anything.” Sylvie reminded her.

“You didn’t have to, it’s in the eyes.” Mackey replied as she turned forward in her seat. “I know I don’t really know you guys but for what it’s worth – I think that’s really great. It’s difficult to find something real in our line of work let alone making it last. It’s nice seeing two people as dedicated to their jobs as you are finding happiness outside of it.”

Sylvie prepared to take off from the curb, but before she did, she turned to Mackey – the faintest of smiles on her face.

“Again – I didn’t say anything.”

Mackey leaned forward slightly, “Your secret is safe with me partner.” She said before giving her a subtle wink.

Sylvie let out a short breathy laugh and shook her head before driving away.

Maybe Mackey was as intuitive as Hatcher claimed she was.

* * *

The rest of shift had been a relatively quiet one. There was nothing disastrous and Mackey was eased in nicely to the job. It also meant that Sylvie had some extra time to show her the ropes around the firehouse. It had been a good first shift together and Sylvie was looking forward to getting to know her new partner better – and it seemed like Mackey thought she had a pretty clear reading on Sylvie already.

The evening after shift, Sylvie stood outside a familiar front door that she stood outside most nights. Before she could knock, she thought about Mackey’s assumption. She wondered why she’d allowed it to be _just_ an assumption. It had been four months after all. Four months since she walked away from him in his quarters and four months since she showed up at this very door that same afternoon.

_**4 months ago**_

Sylvie spent the rest of her morning and afternoon in a daze. She felt guilty for not really paying attention to Stella at breakfast but - how _could_ she? Her mind was spinning, and her world was shifting. She was kind of glad she hadn’t had the chance to reply to Matt. He had chosen his words carefully for her and she wanted to do the same for him.

He hadn’t come by to help her pack up her apartment. He sent her a text saying he wanted to give her some space – but that was the last thing she wanted from him. She tried to distract herself with packing, but she just _couldn’t_. She jumped into her car and absentmindedly drove to his apartment. When she got there, she just sat on the bonnet of her car, just staring at the building, willing herself to go in. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to – she was just scared.

She then began pacing and talking to herself, trying to push herself up the stairs and to his door.

“Talking to yourself?”

Sylvie jumped out of her skin as her head shot up and she saw Matt standing in front of her, an amused grin on her face.

“God, you scared me.” She said as she put her hand over her heart and let out a shaky breath.

Matt chuckled, “Sorry…”

Sylvie looked down at his hands and saw he had his keys and phone in them. “Are you going out?”

“I was going to see you.” He explained. “I know I said I wanted to give you space to think but – I said I would help you pack and that’s what I’m going to do.”

Sylvie smiled gratefully, “A man of your word.”

_“Always.”_ He emphasised. He didn’t need to though. Sylvie knew that he would never be so flippant with something as important as a declaration of love – or even helping her when she asked for it.

“You make me see floating hearts.” She blurted out.

Matt’s face clouded with confusion as Sylvie laughed to herself. She was always confusing him by accident.

“… I’m sorry?” he asked.

“I’ve never had that before. Nobody has ever made me see floating heart emojis when I look at them.” She elaborated, but Matt was still totally lost.

“My emoji knowledge doesn’t really go beyond a smiley face and a sad face” he reminded her.

Sylvie laughed, “I know, and I _really_ love that about you.” It maybe seemed like the silliest, simplest thing in the world – but it was true. She loved that he didn’t get emojis. It was just so… _Matt._ “I love a lot of things about you. I love that you’re a place of warmth. That you’re my best friend, that you feel like home” she began as Matt soon realised what she was saying. “And that you are the ultimate safehouse on my best and my worst days.” She confessed. “I’ve had feelings for you for a _long_ time. At first I didn’t really understand them and I kept burying them. But you slowly broke down my walls and you’re right – I let you in and I don’t know how somebody _couldn’t_ let you in because – because it was the _best_ thing I ever did.” She said as Matt’s confusion turned to pure joy. “You have made me feel more loved and appreciated than anyone _ever_ has, and I don’t want to be without that feeling again and I never want _you_ to be without that feeling. Because I appreciate you and I love you _so_ much.” She passionately proclaimed as she allowed a few stray tears roll down her cheeks. “You’re it for me Matt Casey.”

Matt didn’t want to miss the opportunity he missed earlier. He took a swift step forward, cupped her cheeks in his hands and kissed her. Until that moment, he hadn’t realised that a kiss could make you feel complete.

***

In all her life, Sylvie had never imagined having such deep feelings for someone. She certainly never imagined that anyone would feel so deeply for her too. Now, she _never_ questioned it. Now, she wasn’t standing in front of his door to pour her heart out to him – she didn’t have to. He already knew.

She knocked on the door and a few seconds later it opened. Before any greetings could be shared, she stepped through the doorway and brought her hands to his chest, stood on her toes and kissed him firmly. It only took him a second to respond. He closed the door and wrapped his arms securely around her waist.

She pulled away only slight, allowing him to grin against her lips.

“What did I do to deserve that?”

“You were just _you_.” She replied as she gave him another quick kiss. “Hi” she finally greeted.

Matt smiled wider at her, “Hi. How was your day?”

Sylvie shrugged, “It was ok, better now that I’m here.” She said with a wink as she pulled him into the kitchen area. She sat down at the island while Matt moved around the kitchen, getting them something to drink.

This was the normal for them. They’d spend all the time they could together off shift, but distance themselves at work. They hadn’t meant for it to go on for so long or for it to be as extreme at it became. At first, they just wanted to wait until they felt they were on stable ground in their relationship – but then they just got sucked into their little bubble and neither felt like leaving it.

“So, I’ve been thinking” Sylvie began as Matt froze as he was pouring.

“Yeah?” He asked cautiously.

“I think we should come clean. When I bumped into you yesterday morning, backing away from you just made me so sad. I don’t ever want to have to back away from you again. We got sucked into this bubble and it’s not how either of us expected things to be and it just shouldn’t be like this.”

Matt nodded his head. It certainly hadn't been what he'd expected, but he also wouldn't have changed a moment of it. Having this time to build a solid foundation meant the world to him. “If you’re ready then I'm ready. It _has_ been 4 months and they have been quite frankly the best four months of my life. I know it might change things but I want to hold your hand in public, I want to kiss you in public--"

"So you basically want to _woo_ me in public now?" she teased.

"Absolutely. You deserve to be wooed in private and in public Sylvie Brett" he teased back as she giggled lightly. "and honestly – I think it’s a little cruel that we’re letting everyone at 51 think they’re crazy…” he said with a grimace.

Sylvie chuckled, “The fact that they haven’t worked it out yet blows my mind.” They could be seriously unobservant when they wanted to be...

“Apart from Stella and Severide that is. Did you know they know?” Matt asked as he finished pouring her drink and handed her the glass.

“They know because I told them and there’s no _way_ they wouldn’t have been able to work out that I was the one sneaking in and out of your bedroom.” Sylvie reasoned. She was honestly grateful that their best friends knew. It removed some of the pressure they put on themselves.

Matt smirked, “You really can’t keep a secret, huh?”

_“Nope_. The fact that I haven’t told anybody else is a _miracle_.” She said, the surprise evident in her intonation. “Though…” she began as she trailed her sentence off, her mind moving back to Mackey.

“What?”

“Mackey totally guessed. She’s got like a 6th sense or something.” Sylvie told him. While she hadn’t confirmed it, she hadn’t denied it either and Mackey saw _right_ through that.

“Huh… she’s got good instincts.” Matt concluded.

Sylvie nodded, “Yeah, she does. I think she’s going to fit in really well at 51.” She loved that she got to come here at the end of the day and share her excitement with him. 

“That’s good to hear.” He told her happily. He knew how difficult it had been finding the right fit for 51, so to hear Sylvie feel confident about a partner meant the world to him. 

Sylvie walked around the island with a smile on her face as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I like coming home to you." she told him quietly as he rested his hands on her waist. "And I love you. So much.”

Matt leaned down and gave her a soft and lingering kiss as she fell into his touch as far as she could. She stood by her determination from 4 months ago that she never wanted to be without his touch again.

“I love you too.” He replied quietly against her lips.

They were both so grateful that after all this time, they found the person they knew they would spend the rest of their lives with. It was a feeling they would forever relish in as the excitement for their future grew every day.


End file.
